Our new livery

Cathay Pacific has unveiled a
new paint scheme for its aircraft

Cathay Pacific is updating the livery as part of our ongoing effort to improve the Cathay Pacific customer experience. The new livery captures our brand values and safeguards our heritage, but it also looks forward to our future with its timeless, yet contemporary, elegance; it blends our Asian roots with our global outlook.

The livery is a vital part of Cathay Pacific’s overall brand. When you think about Cathay Pacific,
you think about our aircraft; and the aircraft’s livery is a symbol of our values. It represents our airline not just in Hong Kong,
but as the aircraft take-off and touchdown in all our destinations around the world.

Key changes

The new livery comprises three key design elements: the incorporation of the updated and streamlined brushwing; a simplification of the colour palette to Cathay Pacific green, grey, and white; and a more prominent display of the Cathay Pacific wordmark and brushwing. These updates are most evident on three areas of the aircraft: the nose, the fuselage, and the tail.

The nose

At the nose, the brushwing has been increased in size, freed from the green band that used to surround the nose, and the position adjusted slightly. The Cathay Pacific name, or wordmark, now sits above the windows. The font is the same, but the letters are now all uppercase, so that the wordmark is more prominent. These changes make the aircraft easily identifiable as Cathay Pacific from the front.

The fuselage

A single grey band now runs down the fuselage, elegantly linking the nose with the tail. The band encapsulates the contemporary design approach that is at the heart of Cathay Pacific’s brand ethos, and yet is also a subtle echo of past liveries. Overall, these elements give a more contemporary feel, which is better aligned with the direction of Cathay Pacific’s overall brand redesign.

The tail

The tail now displays a brushwing against an all-green tail. This is the same green as on the previous livery, but now a colour gradient runs along the back edge of the tail, subtly deepening the tone of the green background in that area. Additionally, the brushwing appears ‘clipped’ at the back of the tail. This allows us to keep the brushwing prominent on differing tail proportions, for all types of aircraft.

The process

The ongoing improvements to the Cathay customer experience have established a clear sense
of the design philosophy that represents the brand. As a key part of that exercise, the livery was redesigned
to be consistent and also represent the more unified design approach.

1/3The process from concept exploration to the first roll-out of the livery took six months. It involved a wide-ranging exploration of different designs, colours, and effects, as well as consulting on implementation challenges with the engineering team.

2/3While the changes may seem subtle, they have been very carefully considered. In fact, thousands of variations on the plane’s fuselage, tail, wordmark, and wing tips were considered.

3/3To that end, while the design changes may appear discreet, this refresh strongly embraces the airline’s core design values, while at the same time bringing a sense of elegant modernity.

1/3

The process from concept exploration to the first roll-out of the livery took six months. It involved a wide-ranging exploration of different designs, colours, and effects, as well as consulting on implementation challenges with the engineering team.

2/3

While the changes may seem subtle, they have been very carefully considered. In fact, thousands of variations on the plane’s fuselage, tail, wordmark, and wing tips were considered.

3/3

To that end, while the design changes may appear discreet, this refresh strongly embraces the airline’s core design values, while at the same time bringing a sense of elegant modernity.

Our new design philosophy

The new livery is the latest in a series of updates and improvements, including the logo, website, and mobile app,
as well as the redesign of airport lounges in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Manila, Bangkok, and beyond.

The Cathay Pacific brand celebrates the joy of travel. A promise of quality with a spirit of modern Asian beauty. At its heart is a language of tasteful, warm, and understated sensory experiences, delivered with respectful grace and heartfelt hospitality. We call this new design philosophy “Softly spoken, strongly felt”.

This new philosophy guides the design of new websites, lounges, cabins, in-flight service, entertainment products, and much more – all with greater consistency, beauty, and efficiency, shaping an even better experience for our customers. Beyond this, it also clearly defines who we are and what inspires us to help passengers travel well.

Up next

Our new livery was revealed on 1 November 2015, first being showcased on a Boeing 777-300ER.
The existing fleet will be repainted with the new livery as part of normal maintenance schedules during the next five years.
The first new series of aircraft to launch with the livery design will be the A350 in February 2016.